I have a bit of an entrepreneurial streak in me, and it’s entirely possible that some day I will form my own company. Pursuant to that goal, I’m going to start compiling a list of mottoes, employee guidelines and possibly even business ideas. This is going to be pretty ethereal, adding things as they come to mind and removing things if people point out that it might not be a good idea.
Mottoes
“Do the Right Thing”
There are things I like about Google’s motto “Don’t be evil.” However, it’s not strong enough. There are a lot of things that you can do that are not evil, per se, but that aren’t the right thing. Censoring search results in China may not be evil, but it is most certainly not the Right Thing to do. Requiring potential employees to sign an NDA before they can see it is not… alright, actually that is a bit evil, and it also most certainly is not the Right Thing to do. I realize that this is pretty vague, and that there will definitely be debate over what the Right Thing to do is from time to time, but that’s the way short mottoes go. Many philosophers have killed many trees debating that issue, and an exegetical thesis on morality doesn’t make for a good slogan.
Guidelines
These are mostly for future employees, but can serve as a reminder to everyone.
- I don’t have time for stupid political games (clue: all political games are stupid). I’m in this for a lot of reasons, and wasting my time is not one of them.
- People will be paid what they are worth. Period. This may mean that some engineers will be paid more than some managers. Deal with it. I am not going to lose a good engineer because of some artificial pay limit.
- I hire the best, because the best have the best ideas, and are the best at punching holes in bad ideas. Yes men will be fired. If I or anyone else comes up with a bad idea, it is your job to challenge the idea. Do it nicely, for in the end it may wind up that you yourself are wrong and it’s actually a good idea, but no one will ever be fired for challenging an idea.
- If you don’t know, say so, or keep your mouth shut. Don’t go spouting off about that which you do not understand. For doing so is a path that shall surely lead to destruction, and security escorting you to the nearest exit.
Ideas